Camacho Watcho

It’s no secret that I absolutely loved the three months I spent in Uruguay! I shared many a story last year on my blog about it and I continue to long for the good times and good food that I had there. Therefore, when I heard that Anthony Bourdain had travelled there this past February and No Reservations would be airing the show in late July, I was excited! I DVR’d the show and sought out some friends for an Uruguay party!

The scene was set to happen at my house this past Sunday with our friends Ed and Carly. They had joined Kyle and me for the last ten days of our trip and had travelled in Uruguay and Argentina with us. We were prepared to eat and drink like Uruguyans and to enjoy the show! In true Uruguayan fashion, we started out the night with some beverages and appetizers. The wine was a Sauvignon Blanc from Pulenta Estates in Mendoza, Argentina. We had drank that wine in Mendoza as we stood under a trelise in the dappled sunlight, looking out at the Andes Mountains in the distance. Ahhh…that was the life. Our appetizers were twofold, a chorizo wrapped date wrapped in bacon and the typical melted provolone with oregano. Sweet and salty – I love that combination! If you’re wondering, the provolone platter was a purchase in Uruguay; you see these everywhere there!

We then started the show and began our asado (the Uruguayan terminology for grilled meat fest…my translation). A few tears came to my eyes as I watched Anthony drive around La Plaza Independencia, where I ate lunch every day when I was there. And we were overall happy with his choices for locations – Punta del Este, Jose Ignacio, Cabo Polonio, Montevideo (of course). I longed to be there with him. I was a little disappointed, however, that he kept hooking up with non-Uruguayans to get his tours and information. He made a comment at one point that he had not met any true Uruguayans…uh, try talking to some of the locals. I promise, they are very friendly and many speak English. The best part of it all was he and his brother eating at el mercado del puerto…at the same parilla where Carly, Ed and I had eaten just eight months prior! The show ended and our food fest began.

A quick overview of the food we grilled and how we prepared it. A true asado is not really a grill like we know it. I wrote about it last year when I was invited to an asado by an Uruguayan, so if you’re interested in the grill and technique, I’ve linked to it here. In true Uruguayan fashion, however, we did keep the preparations simple. Just sliced some veggies (peppers, onions, sweet potato) and threw them on the grill (parilla) along with corn on the cob, a large steak and some sausages. Although we were missing the typical blood sausage and sweet breads, we were pretty proud of how our asado turned out.

We broke open the second bottle of wine, a cabernet sauvignon from Finca Familia Cassone and again we were taken back to our wine tour in Mendoza. We had wondered if the wine would taste as good as it did that day in the sun, and we were not disappointed. Wow. For dinner, we served up our food family style, with a big platter of veggies, a platter of meat and, of course, a side of chimichurri. I am in love with this chimichurri (I’ve included a link to the recipe here). The food was simple and delicious.

The only non-South American part of the evening, besides the fact that the party ended at 10pm instead of the usual 4am that would happen there, was the dessert. I had previously bought some key limes that I didn’t want to go to waste. So, although this is not typical to Uruguay, we ate homemade key lime pie for dessert. And I have to admit that it was good!

A trip down memory lane on a wonderful Sunday night. Both Kyle and I said that we can’t wait to go back to Uruguay. Punta del Este…here we come! Well, maybe not now…but soon.

Today is another day…I believe that is what I said a few months ago while in South America. It’s true, obviously. But, it’s something to take to heart as well. Be where you are and enjoy. So, on that note, here are my final days in Argentina and my return home.

The last few days after Mendoza were spent in Buenos Aires. This was my fourth and final trip and I was finally going to do some sightseeing. Buenos Aires is made up of many neighborhoods that have such unique personalities. It really is amazing to wander through each one and experience the people, the food, the sights and the sounds. I had already spent a great deal of time in Palermo, where most of the boutique shopping is, therefore we decided to start out on our first morning for La Boca. This is a bright, vibrant area of Buenos Aires where many artists live. There is a large market with tango, vendors and small shops called Caminita and it is also the home to several of the local soccer teams such as Boca Juniors and Boca River.

The next stop was La Casa Rosada…The Pink House. This is the government building like the White House in the U.S., located near Puerto Madero. The balcony of this historical building is the setting for Eva Peron’s many addresses to the Argentinian masses. From La Casa Rosada, we strolled along until we reached the Obelisk, which is located in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Buenos Aires. With eight lanes of traffic in each direction and billboards filling the sky, this area feels like a cross between Times Square and the Champs-Élysées.

After the Obelisk, we headed to the Eva Peron museum in Recoletta. While I’d love to say that we spent hours pouring through the history of Eva Peron’s life, we actually were starving by the time we arrived, so we ate lunch. Unfortunately, after lunch we decided that since it was so late in the day, we would leave for the next adventure. It pains me now, as I hear how amazing this museum is, so I will need to return someday to properly visit it. However, the artisan pasta we had there was amazing; I highly recommend it for lunch.

After the museum, we stayed in Recoletta and walked through the Japanese gardens. To be quite honest, these were a major disappointment. The Japanese gardens in San Francisco are much better and since we had more places to go…we left after just a few minutes.

Our next destination was the Recoletta Cemetery, where Eva Peron’s body remains. The area of Recoletta where the cemetery is located is very Parisian with its beautiful streets lined with high end boutiques. We first stopped for some ice cream at Freddo’s, which is an Argentinian gelatto store that is amazing! Kyle got the malbec ice cream – another high recommendation from me! After our ice cream, we headed into the cemetery, which is just beautiful. It is, however, a little creepy to be walking through the tombs and to see broken glass and granite blocks that allow perfect viewing of the caskets that are held within. If you are creeped out easily, I would recommend staying on the main, tourist path and not walking through the narrow aisles off the beaten track, as we did. While the cemetery itself was beautiful, the church next door is also quite amazing and actually offers fantastic views of the cemetery next door from the resident chambers.

After a long walk home, we settled in and decided where to eat. Truly, if you find yourself in Buenos Aires someday and you only have the opportunity to eat one dinner – you must go to Cabana Las Lilas. Yes, it is a bit touristy, but it is absolutely the best meal, steak, antipasti platter, dessert, experience ever. That is all I will say.

And so it was my final day in South America. It had been three months of pure adventure and it was perfect.

It’s been a wonderful holiday season seeing family and friends and getting caught up after being gone for three months. That being said, it’s great to be back on CamachoWatcho…so here I am, ready to finish out the rest of my South American adventure.

After my final weekend in Uruguay, my friends and I were ready to tackle Argentina. Our first stop? Wine country…Mendoza, Argentina. Mendoza is a wonderful, small city nestled between the Andes mountains to the west and vineyards and fields in all other directions. Culturally, Mendoza is rich with Latin flavor…favoring a late start to the day, siestas mid-afternoon and, my personal favorite, the long late dinners at night. The city centers around two attractions, the Plaza Independencia and the Parque San Martin. Branching off of the Plaza Independencia are streets full of restaurants, shops and wine stores. The Parque San Martin is large (about 7.5 acres and 17 km of trails) and well-kept, making it a must-visit for a long walk around the lake to work off the food and wine that you will inevitably eat in Mendoza.

Our first night in Mendoza we went to a wonderful restaurant – Azafran. I have to say thank you to all the foodies out there in the blogosphere, because without you, we would not have found this restaurant on our first night. The experience at Azafran – atmosphere, food, wine, service – was outstanding! Even when the power went out right before our dessert not a beat was missed; service continued beautifully, with the restaurant romantically lit by candles. But before that, the food and wine must be mentioned. You know you’re at a good restaurant when…you ask for the wine menu and they tell you they don’t have one; they have a wine room. Yes, a wine room, complete with a personal wine connoisseur to assist you in determining which wine will most please your palate that evening. We chose a wonderful bottle of Mendel Malbec based off his suggestions…and it was perfect! Then there was the food. The first course was an antipasti platter – cured meats, several types of cheese, olives, nuts, and golden raisins. This was followed by our main courses – mine was shared with my husband and was beef tenderloin with goat cheese and beet ravioli, drizzled with a beet reduction. Dessert was something dulce de leche; I can’t remember exactly, but was fantastic! I highly recommend Azafran as a “must-eat” in Mendoza.

The next day, we were up bright and early to go on a wine tour through the Lujan de Cuyo Valley with Ampora Wine Tours. Again, I highly recommend Ampora, as it is more of a boutique wine tour company and Maria (our tour guide) was fantastic! Our first stop was to a small winery – Familia Cassone – which deals only with Ampora Wine Tours. We were greeted by the owner and wine maker himself, Federico, and we went on a short tour of the facility and the vineyards. We then strolled across a large lawn to a house, which we later found out was Federico’s mother’s house, for our wine tasting. The setting was personal and perfect; every detail precise but in a casual, unpretencious way. Our tasting was complemented with casual conversation, sometimes dealing with wine and other times delving into topics such as Latin American traditions. The easiness and humor of the conversation spurred this wine experience much deeper than we would have imagined for 10:00am on a Wednesday morning. We bought bottles of malbec, cabernet sauvignon and a rose and were on our way.

The next stop was to a winery that is larger and more commercial than Familia Cassione, but still beautiful, humble and delicious in its own right. This winery was called Pulenta Estates. We were greeted by the second wine maker, who presented us each with a wonderfully cool and delicious glass of sauvignon blanc. It was perfect for the hot, dry weather that we were experiencing that morning. This welcome set the tone for the wine visit, which could only be described as simple and honest. This might not sound like the most appealing tour to you, but for us, it was perfect. We are not “into” large, commercial over-sold tours that you might see in other wineries. Instead we are interested in hearing the minor details – the act of tasting the grapes, the standards they use for selecting amongst the barrels of partially finished wines – to truly experience the winery and its production. At Pulenta, we bought a bottle each of La Flor Merlot and the Grand Corte Malbec.

At this point, I need to be brutally honest. I had had a bit too much to drink. Yes, at wine tastings they have the spit buckets available and yes, most people do spit out most of the wines that are poured for them. But I am not one of those people. I have such a hard time pouring out a wonderful glass of wine. I had poured out some wine, but apparently, not as much as I should have, therefore when we reached the third winery I was definitely in need for food….and food is what I got! The third winery was Ruca Malen. Truly, the food was amazing – I cannot recall the full menu but I do recall eating several courses of which I experienced an amazing sweet corn tart, beef tenderloin and a dulce de leche dessert.

Our last stop was a winery called…well, I actually can’t remember the name. Again, if my memory is fuzzy about the third winery, it’s even fuzzier about the last winery. I do recall, both from memory and my pictures, that the winery itself was truly beautiful – set against the Andes mountains and designed down to the most beautiful detail. I wish I could comment about the wines, but again to be honest, I didn’t taste any at this winery. My husband also can attest that, although he did try the wines, his tongue was so pickled by this point that he is not in a position to give an educated opinion on their flavors. I would highly recommend this winery, if for nothing else, the views and the design…if you can figure out the name.

After a much needed nap, we headed out that night to La Sal. This restaurant was found both online and recommended to us by Maria, our wine tour guide. La Sal is a small, artistic restaurant serving interesting dishes such as trout risotto and chicken served on a bed of baked pumpkin. They also have live music, which started mid-way through our meal and was an interesting choice – a one man accordion player. I do have to say, however, that after my experience in Argentina and the tango, I have a newfound respect for the accordion and the beautiful music that comes from this soulful instrument.

To sum up our wine touring experience on our first full day in Mendoza, I would say this…if you have the opportunity to visit Mendoza – DO. If presented a spit bucket at a wine tasting and you ask yourself “should I?” – DO. If you have an opportunity to pick up an Argentinian Malbec – DO. This wine region, which produces high-quality, interesting wines, is a true gem. In my amateur opinion, it is pure in its taste and emerging in its true potential to be a global wine force to be reckoned with.

This entry marks the first in a four part series on Buenos Aires. The reason for four parts? You guessed it! Four trips to Buenos Aires. Four separate trips does sound like a bit much in a short timeframe, but each should be unique in its own way in part because of who I will be spending time there with. This first trip was spent with my friend Holly and was a trip designed soley for shopping. I’ll get to that, hang on. The second trip, my husband arrives from the US to begin his visit down here, and that will mark a magnificently happy day for me!!!! The third trip will be a short one as a night layover with Kyle, Carly and Ed on our way to Mendoza. The final trip is an actual 2 1/2 day sightseeing tour of Buenos Aires, which will mark the final days of my stay in South America. And so…on with the show.

Buenos Aires…Part I
Buenos Aires…the Paris of South America….cultural, shopping, eating mecca of Latin America. Call it what you want. I call it AMAZING. I have to admit that my expectations had been set very high for this first trip to Buenos Aires, therefore I had some reasonable doubts when I went whether these expectations would actually be met. My husband always warns me about having too high of expectations and also setting expectations too high for others. I have a tendency to always claim to know of the “best burger in the world” or the “best fish tacos ever”. He warns me that others will just be let down since these are only my opinions. I certainly do not want to hype Buenos Aires up too much for any of you who have not been there, therefore this is my disclaimer…This story is based on my actual happenings of one weekend in Buenos Aires and is heavily influenced by my romanticism and flair for the dramatic. Reader discretion advised.

Getting there from here
This part was not as easy has we had all hoped it would be. There seems to be a loose version of the truth floating around Montevideo as to travel time, distance and costs. The reality of it is that there are two options to go between Buenos Aires and Montevideo…plane or Buquebus. We chose the Buquebus. Buequebus? I’m glad you asked. This is a large ferry that shuttles either direct to Buenos Aires in 3 hours or from Colonia in 50 minutes (along with a 2 hour bus ride to Colonia). The ferry is large, lolls from side to side and is filled with all sorts of characters. I highly recommend at least one trip on the Buquebus if you have the opportunity and the time; it is an experience all of its own. One more thought before I leave the topic. Buquebus is now my favorite word to say…being from the US, when I first got here I pronounced this word with my very flat midwestern US English bookabus. I have since been corrected and now I cannot imagine saying it another way bookeeboos. Now, picture me saying this and whenever I do, I feel compelled to shake my head from side to side and make faces like I’m talking to a baby bookee bookkee bookee. I’m sure the locals don’t find it amusing. However, Holly and I certainly did after sharing a bottle of wine on the Buquebus.

Back to Buenos Aires. As I mentioned, this trip was for one purpose and one purpose only…SHOPPING. I love to shop. My sister and I were trained from an early age to shop by my mom and aunt. By “shopping”, I don’t necessarily mean “buying”. No, buying is not always the purpose. The purpose is to have the stamina to hunt, and sometimes gather, through endless stores, clothing racks and dressing rooms. For this, I have been trained. And let me tell you, I am glad. Buenos Aires is known for it shopping, countless stores filled with leather, clothing and shoes. Some of it is cheap, as you’ve probably heard, but there are definitely the high end boutiques that are amazing! As far as the spending goes, let’s just say that I bought my fair share, and for the sake of my husband reading this, I did show a lot of restraint. Holly’s fiancee made a comment to her later that day to effect of “Why do some women feel compelled to buy something in every store they go in?” She corrected him by saying something like “Every woman feels compelled to buy something when they enter a store. Half of the women buy and half of the women don’t. And then there are those times, like these, when those women who usually show self constraint just give in and go for it.”

A couple of shopping areas to point out:
Calle Florida: Pedestrian street with endless stores of cheap leather warehouses.
Calle Santa Fe: Large street with many leather and other clothing stores (seen in both pictures below)
Palermo: Including Palermo SoHo and Palermo Hollywood – Collection of small neighborhoods with boutique shopping
Galleries Pacifico: Large mall near Calle Florida with a collection of boutiques, leather stores and jewelry stores

I could go on and on about the shopping, but honestly, if you hit those places…most likely you’ve done enough damage to your credit card already. An item to note on the leather, as I definitely think this was one of the areas where my expectations fell short. Fact: Cheap leather goods (bags, shoes, purses, jackets) are everywhere in Buenos Aires. Fact: Stylish leather goods are not as easy to find and are not as cheap. That was okay, however, as the prices for these are still fairly reasonable compared to the US. I think my husband can attest to the fact after reviewing my credit card statements from the weekend, that my favorite stores in Buenos Aires are Prune and Skin. Both of these are leather stores, which you can find in the boutique areas and also in Galleries Pacifico.

Our Saturday was filled with shopping, shopping and more shopping. The only break we took was to refuel at a wine store that held tastings of Argentinian Malbec. Imagine that…we found a wine tasting! Tasting the Malbecs from Mendoza fueled my excitement for my upcoming trip to that wine region and I can’t wait to start planning. Dinner that night was spent with a few friends; one who is on the same program as me in Buenos Aires and one who just moved to Buenos Aires from Minneapolis. I had a wonderful Argentinian steak followed by crema ice cream with dulce de leche. Wow. A couple notes on food. First of all dulce de leche is everywhere down here. This is a thick, caramel-like sweet that is used in everything…cookies, ice cream, crepes, you name it. It is simply amazing and will simply be downfall for not fitting into my clothes back at home. A second note on food: the beef. I actually enjoyed the two steaks that I had in Argentina better than the steaks I’ve had in Uruguay. Gasp! But, please do not tell anyone in Uruguay that, as I still have 4 weeks to go here and I do not want to be evicted from the country for making such a statement. It’s our secret.

Dinner was followed by a shared bottle of wine at a very trendy bar, set in a transformed mansion in the middle of Palermo. Couples and small groups of fashion-oriented and beautiful twenty and thirty somethings lounged in the dark wood interior and outside in the grand courtyard. Being the friendly Norte Americanos that we are, we met three girls from Mendoza who became our fast friends. The night ended, of course, with a trip to a discoteque with the girls and we danced the night away.

San Telmo
The next day we did allow ourselves time for one sightseeing trip, which was spent in the antique market in San Telmo, held at the Plaza Dorrego. I’ve been to many markets here, but this market is by far my favorite. The neighborhood itself reminds me much of the French Quarter in New Orleans and it has the most beautiful architecture and cobblestone streets.

It was there that I first experienced live tango music. Wandering along the streets, we heard the familiar sounds of the tango and saw a large crowd. Excited to see real live tango in Buenos Aires, we weaved through the masses and found ourselves experiencing, not dancing, but musicians. When I thought of the tango before, I thought of a dance with the main attraction the dancers, dramatically dressed in red and black. What I know now is that tango is actually the seduction of the music, not of the dancers. The musicians were playing what looked like a antique, violins, basses, accordions and a piano and the sound that harmonized from them was, in fact, more dramatic than dancers could ever be. I know that this was not just the experience of the music for me, but the experience of the standing in a pedestrian street in Buenos Aires with the colorful buildings and intricate wrought iron balconies surrounding me as I listened to this soulful music. I cannot wait to return.

Upon arriving here in Uruguay, I felt somewhat confident in a few areas of language: greetings, introducing myself and my family, some small talk, the alphabet, numbers and a small vocabulary of verbs and nouns…or so I thought…

I quickly found out that in addition to the expected pronunciation difference, influenced by the dialect from Spain (i.e. “v” sounds like “b”…vamos is pronounced bamos), there are other differences that make a big difference in both Argentina and Uruguay.

The first in the pronunciation of “y”. In school, we are taught that this sounds like it does in English “y”. In Argentina and Uruguay, it is pronounced “sh”. So, instead of “yo” it is “sho” and it is not a hard “o” like mow, it is a soft “o” pronounced like “au”. So it would sound like “shau”.

The second is the pronunciation of “ll”. In school, we are taught that this sounds like “y”. In Argentina and Uruguay, it is pronounced “dg” (think of the word judge). So instead of “llamo” it is “dgamo”.

Therefore, to introduce myself instead of saying “yo me llamo”, it sounds like “shau me dgamo”. That changes a lot and definitely makes some words very hard to understand. Estroy aprendiendo. Esta bien!